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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Blog Cruise - Life Skills in the Homeschool

This week, the Homeschool Blog Cruise asks us about how we incorporate life skills into the homeschool routine.

Life skills are a very important part of growing up. I know, as a child, I always enjoyed cooking and was already a clean freak. So, those types of skills I developed on my own. However, not all kids like those types of things. Boys especially.

For my two, I think it’s important that they know how to cook, clean, maintain a house, change a tire and oil, and balance a budget. I’m still working on how that all gets done before they graduate.

There are some good curriculums out there for the food and nutrition aspects of life skills. Each of my boys will take a semester course focused on nutrition and cooking. My oldest son took a foods class in public high school and loved it. He even created the winning taco pizza in his class. In addition to this type of class, I have them making their own foods for breakfast and lunch. If they want eggs or soup or a sandwich, it is important they can do that by themselves. We have days where they get to help cook, and I always pull them in to help with the holiday cooking.

Cleaning typically gets covered through the chores they are expected to do around the house. Whether it’s dusting, cleaning bathrooms, taking out the trash, doing the dishes - they are expected to pitch in. Laundry comes once they hit the mid-teen years. At that point, they are plenty capable of doing it themselves. With a family of six, there’s always a load in the washing machine.

Car and house maintenance are a different animal altogether. I’m hoping to read how others have handled this aspect. Being a DIY type of person, plumbing, minor electric, painting, and such are all things I’ve learned and hope to pass on to them. I’m just not sure how. My oldest son is working as a mechanic – I plan to have him do workshops with the boys so they know the basic maintenance on their car.

Finally, finances. We’re blessed to be part of a co-op that includes Financial Peace as one of the courses. Each of my boys will go through this course before they graduate. Nowadays, money management is a key to survival, not just success.

How do you do it in your homeschool? What tried and true methods have you come up with to make sure your children are prepared for life on their own?